For A Minute
by Princess Pinky
Summary: Paige goes in search of her birth family.
1. Chapter One

**A/N:** Special thanks to **Quadquetra** of The Charmed Café. His question, "Ok so in Charmed Again I have always wonder about this. Paige says she thought she was related to the girls but their mom died a long time ago. So here's my thing, no matter if it was a long time ago that dosent mean Patty couldn't be her mother. And how do you think she figured the Halliwells as her birth family in the first place."

So this story was based off Paige's CA quote, "So after they died, I went searching for my birth mother, hoping to get some answers. I went to the police, found the church I got dumped at... I checked around. I figured she must've lived near here, you know? They even thought I might've been... related to the Halliwell sisters for a minute, but their Mom died a long time ago, so I gave up on that."

_**For A Minute**_

**Chapter One**

The water cooler groaned like an arthritic man as a large bubble burrowed through the tank and popped as it reached the air at the top. Officer Espinoza released the lever as the water came dangerously close to overflowing from his white Dixie cup and it snapped back into place. He lifted the cup to his parched lips and relished the taste of the cold water on his tongue and eventually, filing down his throat.

It was nearing five o' clock, which meant he only had just over three hours left until he was officially off the clock. If he could finish his report on the double homicide he and his partner had covered earlier in the day in that short a time period, it would be a miracle; otherwise he'd be working on some overtime for the fourth night in a row.

As he sat down and picked up his favorite black ink pen, a swish of black caught his attention. Abruptly, he looked up. Across the room with her head tilted back, gazing up at the flyers of wanted ads and missing children stuck to the bulletin board, was a young woman with long, raven black hair.

Officer Espinoza knew who she was immediately: up until a few years ago, she had dated his partner's son nearly all through high school, until the kids had fallen out over college, and Andy had moved away to attend a university in Portland. Nevertheless, she and her family were still popular around the police station, mostly because of the youngest member of the family, who had a habit of running with a gang of high school misfits and shoplifting.

He pushed his chair back and rubbed the crease of his aching back as he walked over to her. "Your grandmother already picked Phoebe up." When she didn't turn around, he reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Prue, your grandmother-"

The girl whirled around, knocking his hand away in the motion. She had thick black bangs, a flare up of acne, and a full track of metal braces. The major and most immediate difference were that her eyes were brown, not a familiar blue, and that the color of her skin was like snow. Her face, too, was more rounded, but the resemblance was flooring.

"Oh!" Officer Espinoza shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. My apologizes."

The teenager looked flustered. Upon closer inspection, her eyes were actually a little bloodshot. She absently fiddled with the zipper on her coat, pulling it up and down. "Uh, I need some help."

Officer Espinoza straightened up a bit. He'd startled her and she was already in a fragile state, and as much as he wanted to get back to his paperwork, helping her out – if he could – was the least he could do. "Well that's what we're here for." He motioned his hand. "Why don't you come sit down at my desk and tell me what you need."

She seemed grateful as she followed him to his desk and slid into the hard wooden chair behind his computer. As soon as his body touched his seat, she was off like a race horse out of the gate. "I came here last week to get a little information about an adoption several years ago. Uh," she rubbed her cold hands together, "I was given the name of a local church where I was left as a baby and the name of the nun who took care of me. I tried to go speak with her, but as it turns out she's with a mission in El Salvador right now and I can't speak with her, so I thought…I thought if I came back maybe I could, uh, look at the report myself? I mean, just in case there was anything else in it." Her eyes seemed to glisten more as she spoke. "See, I'm looking for my birth mother. I need some…I need to talk to her. My parents – my adopted parents – they passed away last month in a car accident and I just…"

"I understand." He turned to his computer. "Miss, what's your name?"

"Paige," she blurted. "Paige Matthews."

As strange feeling of déjà vu washed over Officer Espinoza as he typed the name into his computer. He tilted his head to steal another long look at the girl again. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

He shook his head. This girl could almost be Prue's twin, if she wasn't about eight years younger. Having been partners with Andy's father since the boy was in diapers, and Prue being such a familiar face around the station, he distinctly remembered how she looked at seventeen. In fact, he'd been the one to handle a report against a boy Prue was dating at the time – during one of her rare splits with Andy – who had tried to assault her.

The fact that the teenager sitting across from him also had a name beginning with a "P" struck him as odd. "P" names were a theme in the Halliwell family: Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and their grandmother Penny. Though he couldn't remember her name, he was quite sure the girls' mother had some sort of "P" name as well. He knew he shouldn't be dwelling on it, but the resemblance and the name were just so strange.

_And we are looking for her adoptive parents_, he reminded himself. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed his computer had long since finished its search while he was lost in his thoughts. He moved his mouse around. Several of the reports that contained Paige's name were offenses, involving underage drinking or smoking or cutting class. _Sounds like Phoebe_, he mused.

But at the bottom, the oldest of the reports, was an adoption record. He clicked it and attached to it was a police report, which was what he guessed Paige had been talking about. He clicked it to bring up a second window with the digital copy of the report so that he could review it. After a few moments, he switched windows and compared the adoption information to the report about finding Paige at the church. There wasn't much there, really. Only the name of the nun who had found Paige, Sister Agnes, but other than that, nothing more than what Paige had already told him.

Officer Espinoza frowned. Something inside him empathized with the girl. The logical side of his brain was telling him to apologize and tell him there was nothing he could do, after all, the reports were a dead end and he really _needed_ to get back to his homicide report. But on the other hand, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on was gnawing at him. With a quick click of his mouse, he brought up a fresh search page and typed in the name _P._ _Halliwell_.

Several reports came up, mostly regarding Phoebe Halliwell, but as he scrolled down through the dates, a death report caught his eye. It was marked February 28, 1978. Eagerly, he clicked on hit and skimmed it. Patricia Halliwell was the subject of the report: the mother of the three Halliwell sisters. _I knew their mother had a similar name! And her date of death, nineteen-seventy-eight…_ He looked at Paige, who was staring off into space. "What did you say your birth date was?" As the words rolled off his tongue, he mentally chastised himself. He could've just referenced the police and adoption records, but now the question was in the air and he couldn't do anything about that.

"August second, nineteen-seventy-seven." Her brown eyes were wide, hopeful. "Did you find something?"

With a few clicks, he'd brought up Phoebe's profile. She had been born in November of 1975. After a few mental calculations, Officer Espinoza had come to the conclusion that it was indeed possible for Paige to be Patty's daughter. _But reunions like this belong on Lifetime shows, or Jenny Jones, not in a San Francisco police office with me._ Nevertheless, it _was_ possible, at least technically speaking, and she definitely looked like a Halliwell between her uncanny resemblance to Prue, the brown eyes she shared with Prue's sisters, and even the shape of her face which closely resembled Piper's.

"It's just a hunch," he found himself telling her before he could stop. "But I think it's possible you could be related to a woman named Patricia Halliwell."

Paige rolled the name around on her tongue. "Patricia Halliwell?"

He raised his hands, hoping to not get her hopes too high. "It's a long shot though, so don't get too excited. But, uh, do you think you could come in tomorrow morning? Say about nine? My partner gets in then. He actually knows the Halliwells. If anyone would know anything, it would be him."

Paige began to nod her head, bobbing it back and forth like a bobble head doll. "Yes." Her voice was suddenly small and laced with equal parts eagerness and fear. "Y-yes, of course. I'll be here exactly on time, I promise." She seemed shaken as she rose from her chair, not sure which way to turn. Then she held out her hand, which felt shaky beneath Officer Espinoza's. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Officer Espinoza watched her scurry out of the police department. He ran his fingers through his short black buzz cut and looked back at his computer screen. It was only a hunch, if that. A sick feeling welled in his stomach as he began to close his search windows. What he'd done had been anything but official and if anything came from it, it would be a miracle.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

He was at his desk eating a doughnut. It was a stereotype his fellow officers teased him mercilessly about, but it was an addiction he couldn't break. Officer Espinoza blamed Krispy Kreme. His lips were just about to come in contact with the sweet glaze when he saw his partner walk through the doors and he quickly abandoned his breakfast. "Drew! Drew, hey!"

Officer Trudeau paused at his partner's desk, which was only a few feet away from his own. "Hey, morning Bill. What's up?"

Officer Espinoza rose to his feet while simultaneously checking his watch. "Look, I need you for a few minutes, okay? There's this girl I want you to meet-"

"A girl?" Drew asked skeptically. "You do realize I'm happily married, don't you?"

"Shut up," Bill grumbled. "She came in yesterday evening looking for some help about locating her birth parents and I thought you might be able to help."

"Me? Why? I'm not a private investigator."

"I think you'll know when you see her." And as if on cue, he spotted Paige walking through the doors, two minutes earlier than she was supposed to. "And there she is."

Drew turned and his face screwed up into a squint. "The one with the black hair and bangs?"

"Look like anyone you know?" Officer Espinoza asked with a rhetorical accent. He waved Paige over to his desk and shook her hand. "Paige, hi, nice to see you again."

"Likewise." She nervously ran her hand through her hair. "Is your partner-"

Drew held out his hand. "Andrew Trudeau," he introduced. "Bill's partner. But most people just call me Drew."

"So you're the one who knows about my mother?"

Drew looked over his shoulder at Bill, with a questioning expression. "I'm afraid I just got in and-"

"Why don't we go talk in there," Bill suggested, motioning to an empty interrogation room. "This is a little personal and it's a little noisy in here." He ushered his partner and Paige into the room and shut the door, immediately relishing the silence. "Drew," he explained, "Paige is looking for her birth mother. I uh, thought you might know something. You know what I'm talking about right?"

Drew studied Paige from his seat across from her at the interrogation table. There was no doubt about it: she looked like Prue. Not exactly, but most of her other traits were recognizable within the Halliwell family as well. He wasn't sure where his partner was going with this, though. "How can I help?"

"Paige said her mother left her at a local church after she was born. It's a few streets down."

"Yes?"

"Well…she was born in seventy-seven, August. I uh, I was wondering if she could possibly be related to the Halliwells. Her adoptive parents died about four weeks ago and-"

"I need some answers," the teenager spoke up. Her voice was hard and determined, reminding both officers even more of Prue and Prue's grandmother, Penny.

"August of seventy-seven?" Drew shook his head. "Paige, I'm sorry, but I've known the Halliwells for years. One of Patty's daughters, Prue, goes way back with my son. I remember seventy-seven quite well, because that's the year Patty divorced from her husband. It was pretty painful for the kids that first half of the year." He shakes his head. "And to my knowledge, she was never pregnant after Victor left. Considering my son was a frequent playmate at their house, it would've been a little difficult to miss. And then," he closed his eyes, heaving a weighted breath, "she died that next year. The last in a string of drowning incidents at a summer camp."

"So…you're saying that she's not my mother?"

"Patty Halliwel only had three children. I'm sorry. I know this must be frustrating for you and I apologize. I'd love to try and help you in any way that I could, but I'm positive that you're not related to the Halliwells. Not as Patty's daughter, anyway." He stood up and pulled a card from his breast pocket. "Here's my card. I'm no P.I. but if you get anymore leads, give me a ring. I will do my best to help."

"Thank you." Her voice was mellow, barely a whisper. She slipped the card into her pocket as Officer Espinoza opened the door.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Paige shuffled out with her hands in her pockets, fingering the edges of Drew's card as she walked towards the doors. For a minute, she had thought she might have found her birth family, but the minute was gone. As she reached for the doors, one opened and an officer lead a brunette haired girl in past Paige. She had long hair, bangs not unlike Paige's, and a sneer on her face. Paige paused, staring as the girl passed her.

"What are you looking at?" the girl snarled between pops of her chewing gum.

The officer leading her in jerked her head away. "Keep moving!"

As Paige placed her hand to the door, she looked back over her shoulder to see Officer Espinoza and Officer Trudeau talking to the girl. Her stomach gave an odd flop, digesting a strange sense of déjà vu, as she left the San Francisco police station.


End file.
